Suwanee Magazine May June 2018

NORTH GWINNETT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES COMPETE FOR TITLE OF MISS GEORGIA

SUWANEE S ’

BEST FATHER CONTEST WINNER

MAY / JUNE 18

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT:

MAPLE STREET BISCUIT CO. 2018

SUMMER ADVENTURES GUIDE

2018 SUWANEE MAGAZINE GET FIT CHALLENGE WINNER REVEALED...

MAY / JUNE ‘18

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2018 Summer Adventures Guide

With the approach of summer comes the urge for adventure! Our Summer Adventures Guide offers a wide variety of ideas to help keep the whole family smiling.

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Get Fit Challenge: The Results It’s hard to believe, but the Get Fit Challenge has come to a bittersweet end.

The team at Suwanee Magazine has enjoyed supporting the contestants through their journey and we are proud to announce the official results for all six contestants.

PHOTO BY TIM DRYDEN

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PHOTO BY WALT WOODEN

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Unleashed Creations Pet Spa Suwanee’s Unleashed Creations Pet Spa has attracted clients from all over metro Atlanta. See why their luxurystyle grooming and daycare center is becoming so popular.

17 Investment Strategies

Aileron Investment Advisors answers the question, “What technology trends should I be following?”

18 Brand Aid

Veugeler Design Group addresses 6 Content Marketing tips that can help small businesses.

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Maple Street Biscuit Company Located in Downtown Duluth, Maple Street Biscuit Company is taking our biscuit indulgence one step further, where made-from-scratch biscuits are piled high with fried chicken, pecan smoked bacon, over easy eggs, and topped with pure maple syrup.

35 Summer Ear Health

Summer is upon us and so are outdoor activities in the hot, Georgia sun. While we’re all used to hearing the common, necessary precautions such as using sunscreen and staying hydrated, Dr. Matt Gill of Suwanee ENT shares tips to care for an often overlooked, yet highly sensitive body part: our ears.

39 Family Matters

Licensed Family Therapist, Laura Lebovitz, gives tips on how you can raise a confident child.

42 Ask Henry

Henry at Sugar Hill Animal Hospital helps to answer all your pet-related issues.

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40 PHOTO BY WALT WOODEN

Best Father in Suwanee Contest Winner

We created the first-ever Best Father in Suwanee Contest to honor all of the amazing father figures in our community. Meet the local dad who stood out from the crowd and is our 2018 contest winner!

58 Wine Tasting Tips Five tasting tips to help you become the ultimate wine connoisseur courtesy of Château Élan’s “Wine Tasting Experience.”

62 What's Brewing

PHOTO BY CARLA HOFF

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Open just two short years, Scofflaw Brewing has already tripled capacity.

Learn more about how they became one of Georgia's fastest growing breweries and called a U.S. brewery to watch.

North Gwinnett Graduates Compete in Miss Georgia Pageant The 74th annual Miss Georgia Pageant will take place June 12th - 16th, and three of Suwanee’s own will be competing for the title. We had a chance to catch up with Alexa Gilomen, Holly Haynes, and Taylor Hoff about the upcoming pageant.

68 Gwinnett Stripers’ Lucas Sims

2017 Suwanee Wine Fest Exclusive Pics

Pitcher, Lucas Sims, a Gwinnett County native, chats with us about the Gwinnett Stripers upcoming season.

in every issue: 8 Editor’s Letter 70 The Buzz 74 People & Places 78 Event Calendar

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letter

a note from our managing editor

To a community that cares t is with a heavy heart that I write my final Editor’s Letter for Suwanee Magazine. I am moving for an opportunity that seems to be the right choice for this stage of my family’s life. But only time will tell! Suwanee has certainly captured my heart and just may eventually pull us back.

Rachel Pillow

Managing Editor rachel@suwaneemagazine.com

I have loved being part of this community for the past five years and have made friendships that I know will last a lifetime. You all know more than anyone how much I have loved my time here. I don’t think any other job lends itself to getting to know so many wonderful people. From our readers to our advertisers, to our contest and event sponsors, to all of the people I have gotten to interview, I have been touched by your stories, your passion and your commitment to making Suwanee such a beloved place to live, work and play.

Being Managing Editor of the magazine has given me unique perspective and insight into Suwanee’s inner workings….and I like what I see. Suwanee is a community that cares: cares about each other, about making a difference, about supporting local businesses, about the environment, your longterm impact and legacy.

We also announce the winner of the Suwanee Magazine Best Father in Suwanee Contest on page 40. We have done Mother’s Day contests before, but wanted to do something in honor of Father’s Day this year. The heartfelt submissions we received made us so proud of the dads in our community who are raising up our next generation.

Behind every door is an untold story and my favorite thing about Suwanee Magazine is the ability to share those. Local businesses throughout the area are defined by so much more than the products or services they are selling. Maple Street Biscuit Company (page 53) does more to serve the community than just make really good biscuits; and Scofflaw Brewing (page 62) might put on a tough face, but they’re giving back in big ways.

These are just two examples of the hundreds I have encountered over the years. Each one of you have a unique story and contribute to the community in bigger ways than you even know.

To my colleagues, our readers, advertisers and everyone else who supports Suwanee Magazine – thank you for the best five years of my career thus far and thank you for always being a community that cares. I wish you nothing but continued success!

In this issue we announce the winner of the Suwanee Magazine Get Fit Challenge on page 24.

For the past 90 days, six contestants gave us their all in a quest to reclaim their health and fitness.

The outreach and support that we have seen from our readers and local businesses is just another testament to your character.

NORTH GWINNETT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES COMPETE FOR TITLE OF MISS GEORGIA S U W A N E E M AG A Z I N E

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2018 SUMMER ADVENTURES GUIDE • BEST DAD IN SUWANEE CONTEST WINNER • RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT: MAPLE STREET BISCUIT CO.

ON THE COVER:

2018 Get Fit Contestants, Amy Doherty and Kevin Burkhart photographed at Suwanee Magazine HQ on April 18th

by Tim Dryden.

SUWANEE’S

BEST FATHER CONTEST WINNER

MAY / JUNE 18

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT:

MAPLE STREET BISCUIT CO. 2018

SUMMER ADVENTURES GUIDE

2018 SUWANEE MAGAZINE GET FIT CHALLENGE WINNER REVEALED...

ANGELA VEUGELER President / Editor-in-Chief angela@suwaneemagazine.com RANDALL VEUGELER Vice President and Publisher RACHEL PILLOW Managing Editor rachel@suwaneemagazine.com NATALIE STUBBS Ads Manager ads@suwaneemagazine.com

Creative Director RANDALL VEUGELER Art Director ERICA ABRAMS Writers ALICIA CARTER • LIZZY KIDNEY Production Manager LAURA PAYNE Web Editors WALT WOODEN • CLARKE GLIDEWELL Digital Marketing Manager PRISCILLA SALMASI Graphic Design APRIL MILLER • SHAY HARBAUGH BRIAN HASSINGER • LAURA GRANT Photographers KARL LAMB • JULIE PERDUE WALT WOODEN • TIM DRYDEN

Sales JULIE PERDUE julie@suwaneemagazine.com

PUBLISHED BY VEUGELER DESIGN GROUP 554 W. Main Street, Suite 200, Buford, GA 30518 SuwaneeMagazine.com

For SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES or BACK ISSUE ORDERS, call 678-482-2270.

For ADVERTISING INQUIRES, call 678-482-2270, or email info@suwaneemagazine.com.

Suwanee Magazine is published bi-monthly by Veugeler Design Group.

Opinions expressed by the contributing writers and editors are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or Suwanee Magazine. The publisher will not accept responsibility for submitted materials that are lost or stolen. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication. However, the publisher cannot assume responsibility for errors or ommissions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. ©2018 Veugeler Design Group. The editors welcome unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. Please email submissions to Rachel Pillow at rachel@suwaneemagazine.com.

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suwanee business community news and info.

BRAND AID:

CONTENT MARKETING INVESTMENT STRATEGIES WITH AILERON INVESTMENT ADVISORS 17

LUXURY

DOGGY DAYCARE Suwanee's Unleashed Creations Pet Spa attracts clients from cities all over metro Atlanta for its unique, luxury-style grooming center with doggy daycare and luxury boarding.

BY: RACHEL PILLOW / PHOTOS BY: WALT WOODEN

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hen we first met Karina Miller, Owner of Unleashed Creations Pet Spa in November of 2015, she had just opened her business a few months prior and was determined to provide Suwanee and the surrounding community with a unique, top-notch, luxurystyle grooming center with doggy daycare and luxury boarding. Three years later and Miller has hired three additional groomers, two that are National Certified Master Groomers, and has expanded Unleashed Creations’ list of services.

 Overnight boarding accommodations include luxury suites with dog beds and even a TV!

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Miller’s background as an award-winning groomer has attracted customers from cities all over metro Atlanta, who drive over 30 miles to bring their dogs to Unleashed Creations Pet Spa. The boarding and doggy daycare portion of her business has been rapidly growing, too. A

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loyalty rewards program allows customers to collect points for any purchases they make and redeem them for a variety of services, from grooming to boarding. She wants to make all of their offerings accessible and more affordable for loyal customers and has also created packages that include unlimited monthly bath, brush and blowout starting at $39 or unlimited doggy daycare for $350. One day of daycare is typically $25, so for somebody who works five days a week, that’s a savings of $150 a month. Daycare is a great option for people who work too far from home to let their dogs out during lunch breaks or for dogs that could benefit from the added exercise, playtime and personalized attention. “We are great at taking care of dogs with special needs, too. If there is a dog with arthritis or severe anxiety, we will personalize and customize service for the dog. Maybe instead of going outside to play in a group setting, that dog will go outside with one person more often throughout the day,” she said.

grow

 Miller recommends regular grooming for all dog breeds because they are able to spot any potential issues such as ear infections before they become too serious.

 “The dog races we set up at the Easter Egg Hunt were a huge hit! We will definitely do them again at other events,” said Miller.

Miller is also dedicated to giving back to the community by partnering with local veterinarians such as Tiger Tails and Town Center Animal Hospital, and providing free events and programs, such as “puppy training” every Saturday at 10am.

It gives people an opportunity to socialize their puppies, learn training and behavioral tips, and get accustomed to some of the grooming equipment. “We introduce puppies to some of the grooming tools and help familiarize

them with things like the noise of the hair dryer,” said Miller.

FOCUSING ON THE DETAILS Miller and her team are always trying to come up with creative ways to serve their customers (human and non-human.) “We like to focus on the little details,” explained Miller. For instance, on Valentine’s Day they took photos of the dogs, printed them on Valentine’s cards and had each

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 On hot summer days this bone shaped swimming pool is one of the most popular spots in the doggy daycare play yard. dog put their paw print on the card with a personal message to each dog-parent. “People loved getting gifts from their fur-kids,” she said. Over Easter weekend, they held a free “doggy Easter egg hunt” where dogs got to sniff out treat-filled eggs and participate in games and a race in the yard. They also host free “doggy pool parties” in the summer and jump at any opportunity to celebrate holidays with their customers, like offering Irish beer tastings for St. Patrick’s Day. “This is a small, family business and I like to get to know all of my customers, not just the dogs.

For them, they’re leaving their babies here. So, they want to know who the owner is and who the teachers are that are putting their hands on their dogs. I feel so much responsibility here and want to ensure - Karina Miller, Owner of that everyone feels Unleashed Creations Pet Spa comfortable,” she said. Through free, community events such as the puppy socialization or the Doggy Easter Egg Hunt, Miller opens the door for current and potential customers to learn about who she is and how they operate their business.

For more information about Unleashed Creations, visit unleashedcreationspetspa.com. 

“This is a small, family business and I like to get to know all of my customers, not just the dogs.

For them, they’re leaving their babies here. So, they want to know who the owner is and who the teachers are that are putting their hands on their dogs. I feel so much responsibility here and want to ensure that everyone feels comfortable.”

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grow

I N V E S T M E N T S T R AT E G I E S BY: Bill and Cindi Porter, AILERON INVESTMENT ADVISORS

Q: What technology trends should I be following?

A: Major economic breakthroughs many times offer investment opportunities for those with vision. Today we are possibly on the edge of several significant developments. For context, let’s review the four phases of the industrial revolution: I. In the 1780’s, Phase I introduced mechanization, steam power, and the weaving loom.

II. In the 1870’s, Phase II included mass production, assembly lines, and electric energy.

III. In the 1970’s, Phase III added computers, automation, and electronics.

IV. Today, Phase IV is brimming with potential investment possibilities due to technological advances of: robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, Big Data, 3-D printing, and industrial automation are some of the “big change” prospects that might be attractive trends for investors to follow.

The next step is to try and determine which companies will be the leaders in these various industries and invest accordingly. That is the hard part! A few examples make this critical point. On December 31, 1958, Thomas Watson of IBM said, “I think there is a world market for maybe 5 computers.” In 1977, Ken Olsen, the founder of Digital Equipment Corporation said, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” On January 1, 1962, Decca Records turned down a contract with the Beatles.

Your informed vision needs to be consistent with the vision of the companies whose stock you might consider purchasing in your attempt to profit from the new trends. The stock market is about calculated “risk taking” NOT “sure thing taking.” A conversation with your trusted advisor is a good place to begin the process.

Securities and advisory services offered through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC (MAS), member FINRA/SIPC and a Registered Investment Advisor. MAS and Aileron Investment Advisors are not affiliated entities. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. This is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual’s situation.

Send your investment questions to: submissions@SuwaneeMagazine.com All the information in this letter is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information is strictly at your own risk.

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BRAND-AID

MARKETING TIPS FROM

VEUGELER DESIGN GROUP

CONTENT IS THE KEY

6 Content Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

BY:

ALICIA CARTER

CONTENT MARKETING MANAGER, VEUGELER DESIGN GROUP

Content marketing is a great option for many small businesses, but it’s typically underutilized by those who could benefit from it the most. Many of our clients have heard they should create content for their website, but most don’t fully understand the reasons why. “I need to create content to increase my SEO.” “Having an updated blog will show that I’m an authority in my field.” Both of these statements are true, but having a content strategy in place can also mean so much more for small businesses. And it requires consistent effort, i.e., regularly posting content, to see a positive return on investment. When done correctly, content marketing is an excellent, and potentially inexpensive, way to drive customers further down the sales funnel.

Ready to get started? The following six tips can help your business implement a successful content marketing campaign.

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Outline Your Goals The first step to creating effective content is to establish your goals. What is your intended end result? Maybe you want to drive traffic to your website or appear higher in organic searches.

Or maybe you’d like to build your email list. In addition to defining your goals, it’s also important to identify your target audience. What buyer persona are you trying to reach? Creating a detailed buyer persona at the beginning of the process will help establish a clear direction. What type of content is your buyer persona more likely to look for — blog posts, how-to guides, videos? Do they hang out on social media? Are they tech-savvy? Having clear parameters in place will help guide your content creation process.

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Determine the Best Type of Content Blog posts are great to help build your organic search results because they’re relatively easy and inexpensive to create, and they don’t have to be terribly long to make an impact with potential customers.

Just make sure you’re posting regularly and optimizing your posts with keywords and internal and external links. Longform content such as e-books and case studies can be used to help establish a business as an authority in their field or as a thought leader. Maybe your goal is to increase social shares (and therefore amplify reach). An infographic might be your best bet because you can pack a ton of information into one image that is easily digestible — and easily shared!

Focus on Consistency

Small businesses with blogs get

126%

more lead growth than small businesses without.

- Impact

No matter what type of content you decide to create, consistency is king. In other words, create a schedule and stick to it! Start slowly, maybe one blog post per month, and then build up to a more frequent routine. The most important thing to focus on in the beginning is quality. Make sure the information you create is relevant to your business, informative, and valuable to the consumer. Once you have a plan in place, you’ll be better prepared to effectively deliver your content to potential customers, and you’ll build trust with those customers by providing a source of information they can come back to again and again.

 Content is an integral piece of the digital marketing puzzle. Combined with social media and SEO strategies, content is essential to a successful digital marketing campaign.

In fact, without content, social media and SEO would be much less effective to driving traffic to your business’s website.

After all, without original content, you’ll have less pages to optimize for search engines and less content to share on social media.

CONTENT CAN INCLUDE:

3 Blogging 3 Case Studies 3 White Papers 3 E-books 3 Infographics 3 Videos 3 Podcasts

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Optimize Your Content Creating content, whether through blogging, content offers, videos, podcasts or images such as infographics, is a great way to build out pages on your website - pages that can be updated and optimized with SEO best practices. Without those additional pages of information, your website would remain stagnant and there would only be so much search engine optimization available. However, by consistently updating your website with fresh content, you’re able to implement keywords, headers, meta descriptions and more on each page that will enable search engines to better crawl your site and recognize it as a valuable source of information.

Content marketing gets three times the leads per dollar spent vs. paid search.

- Content Marketing Institute

Measure Your Results Don’t forget to take time to analyze your results! This is an essential step with any type of digital marketing. It’s important to know what is working and what isn’t so you know where to focus your time and attention. But remember, it can take time for content to make an impact on your website traffic. Content marketing is a slow burn, but when it’s done well it can have an amazing impact on your ROI!

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Share on Social Media If you’re struggling to decide which social media network is right for your business, the type of content you create will help drive that decision.

For example, if you’re creating graphic content, such as images and infographics, then Instagram or Pinterest would be great options to share that content. Blog posts are great for Facebook and Twitter, while industry-specific white papers, e-books and other related content could be shared via LinkedIn. Once you know where you’d like to focus your attention, be sure to share your content regularly!

ALICIA CARTER,

CONTENT MARKETING MANAGER, VEUGELER DESIGN GROUP  Alicia applies her decade of experience working in content creation and social media to help clients create a digital marketing strategy to reach more customers and generate leads. She blogs regularly for Veugeler Design Group about topics ranging from digital marketing strategies and website optimization to social media tips and strategies.

2018

THE RESULTS

It’s hard to believe, but the 90-day Suwanee Magazine Get Fit Challenge has come to an end. Everyone here at Suwanee Magazine has enjoyed following each of the contestants’ journeys.

We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to participate in this challenge. Each of them has shown a level of dedication, determination and true grit that has been an inspiration to not only our staff, but the entire Suwanee community.

STORY BY ALICIA CARTER PHOTOS BY WALT WOODEN

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e couldn’t have pulled the challenge off without the help of many people in the community. From John Perry & Associates, who provided the health assessments at the beginning and end of the competition, and Restorative Health, who provided the body fat analysis that the final results were based on, to each of the gyms and trainers who donated their time and services to our contestants — thank you! The trainers, including Anthony Wilkins of Alloy Personal Training for Women, Dan LeBlanc of Crux Fitness, and Angie Willet of Stage 3 Fitness (along with their staff of trainers), are a big reason why this challenge was so successful. The support, encouragement and friendship they showed the contestants is a testament to the quality of training they all received.

In addition to the gyms and sponsors, we need to thank Whole Foods Health Coach Stephanie Wolfe and

Rainbow Pilates’ Sonya Simpson, who donated their services to the contestants. Stephanie treated us to a class on how to take a whole foods approach to our diet, and Sonya let us crash a very intense pilates class. Thank you both!

Although we are crowning one contestant the overall winner, they are all winners for taking control of their health. They were all successful because they accepted the challenge and completed it! None of them threw in the towel, even though the workouts were demanding, the early mornings were tough, and the stresses of life continued on even during the competition. In the end, the contestants lost a combined total of 117 pounds and 17 inches over three months. That’s amazing!

Our overall winner was determined by the amount of body fat percentage lost. Congrats to all of the contestants! We are so very proud of you and look forward to continuing to follow your journeys.

THE CONTESTANTS LOST A COMBINED TOTAL OF 117 POUNDS AND 17 INCHES OVER THREE MONTHS

TURN THE PAGE TO SEE THE RESULTS 

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2018 GET FIT CHALLENGE WINNER:

KEVIN BURKHART Total Pounds Lost ....................................21 Total Inches Lost from Waist .....................5 Total Body Fat Percentage Lost ........ 8.4%  When Kevin first entered the competition, he was struggling with a work-life balance. As a lawyer, he worked long days that led to not-so-healthy choices when it came to his nutrition. And even though he remained active throughout law school, his motivation to workout while building his firm post-college was considerably lacking.

Kevin applied for the Get Fit Challenge for the accountability of the Suwanee community.

“As my health has improved, my energy has increased, my mind has calmed, my confidence has grown, and I enjoy and appreciate things about life that I had previously avoided.”

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THE RESULTS

He felt that by sharing his story he would gain the motivation he needed to once again maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Kevin really started to hit his stride and find his new “fitness family” with the help of the members and trainers at Crux Fitness. “Crux is much more than a gym. Members, often referred to as ‘maniacs,’ are encouraged to attend the daily one-hour workouts three to six times per week, but they are equally encouraged by Trainer Dan LeBlanc and other ‘maniacs’ to fellowship outside of the gym, too,” Kevin said. “It did not take long before I felt part of the family at Crux.” During his first couple months at the gym, Kevin said he learned to live by the Crux motto: Embrace the suck. “The first several workouts of this challenge were difficult, awkward, and painful for me!” he said. “After a few weeks, I felt this major transition in my body and mind. The workouts, while still difficult, didn’t hurt. More and more I found this craving to workout. Now after my workouts, I experience a sense of great euphoria and appreciation.”

Over three months, Kevin lost 21 pounds and over 8% body fat. His newfound confidence was palatable each time we met up over the course of the challenge.

As his face thinned, his personality blossomed. “Winning the Get Fit Challenge means a lot to me, of course because it means I

BEFORE

AFTER

KEVIN TRAINED WITH DAN LEBLANC AT:

improved my physical fitness, but even more so because it has given me such a great amount of pride,” Kevin said. “I am proud of all the contestants, their hard work, and their results. I'm proud of Crux Fitness, its trainers, and

its members for their parts in producing this result for me. Being held out to be the highest achiever among such high achievers gives me a lot of belief in myself to make and accomplish challenging goals, which I plan to continue to pursue from here.”

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2018 GET FIT CHALLENGE RUNNER-UP:

AMY DOHERTY

Total Pounds Lost ....................................14 Total Inches Lost from Waist .....................1 Total Body Fat Percentage Lost ........... 4%  Amy entered the Get Fit Challenge to reclaim her health. After beating cancer, Amy was on a mission to finally find the motivation she needed to kickstart her fitness journey. With the support of Suwanee Magazine readers on her side, she began waking up early for a 6 a.m. call time at Alloy Personal Training for Women. “Anthony might just be the best trainer/coach that Suwanee Magazine could have paired me with,” Amy said. “He works me hard and makes me better. He didn’t look at me and give up or tell me to back off or ask me if I really wanted to be there — he just kept putting it out there and I kept showing up and working hard.”

Over the course of three months, Amy lost 14 pounds and 4% body fat — and she’s still going! “In the last 90 days, amazing things have happened,” she said. “I’ve gained muscle that I never knew existed. I can plank and hold it. I have muscles in my arms and legs that I forgot I had! My core seems fit and continues to get stronger. My mind is better.”

AFTER

BEFORE

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AMY TRAINED WITH ANTHONY WILKINS AT:

THE RESULTS

BILL PENNINGTON AFTER

Total Pounds Lost ....................................39 Total Inches Lost from Waist ..................7.5 Total Body Fat Percentage Lost ........ 3.3%  Bill is the contestant who had the most dramatic physical transformation: he lost 39 pounds and 7.5 inches from his waist! When Bill started the competition, his main goal was consistency. He had been on an endless cycle of losing weight and gaining it back for far too long. This time he wanted it to be different; he wanted to keep it off and restore his health. We’re happy to report that Bill is well on his way to meeting that goal! “No matter what the results of the challenge are, I’ve won,” Bill said.

BEFORE

BILL TRAINED WITH ANGIE WILLET AT:

“I received a call from my doctor’s office that I have completely reversed my diabetes diagnosis and am not even in the pre-diabetic range.”

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2018 GET FIT CHALLENGE SHERI MATT Total Pounds Lost ....................................13 Total Inches Lost from Waist .....................2 Total Body Fat Percentage Lost ........1.2%  Sheri is a former athlete who, after being overweight in her 30s and 40s, wanted to enter her 50s in better shape. She entered the Get Fit Challenge because she was having trouble making those changes on her own. When you meet Sheri, her sweet personality and friendly smile instantly make you want to root for her. And while life threw some heavy obstacles her way during the competition, she was able to maintain that same energy throughout and never gave up, as many people would do! After three months of working out at Alloy Personal Training for Women, Sheri gained a positive new outlook. “It may be the end of the Suwanee Magazine Get Fit Challenge, but it isn’t the end of my journey,” she said.

AFTER

BEFORE SHERI TRAINED WITH ANTHONY WILKINS AT:

“I think learning how to train my mind to think more positively and to find ways to stop the “stinkin’ thinkin” was every bit as important as learning how to strength train and eat wisely. wisely.”

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2018 GET FIT CHALLENGE SUE BROWN Total Pounds Lost ....................................20 Total Inches Lost from Waist ..................1.5 Total Body Fat Percentage Lost ........ 3.7%  With an amazing 20 pounds of weight loss, Sue dropped the most weight of the female competitors over the course of the competition — and even maintained that momentum after sustaining a broken wrist with just two weeks left in the competition. “I didn’t stop working out, I just did lower body and some cardio,” Sue said. “It was disappointing, but I didn’t let it stop me even though all I wanted to do was stop and rest!” The camaraderie of the team and members of Stage 3 Fitness made all the difference for Sue, who says the support is what kept her going.

AFTER

BEFORE

SUE TRAINED WITH ANGIE WILLET AT:

“For me, I’m halfway to my goal and will not stop till I get there! I’ve lost 20 pounds.

I feel so much better. I’m able to wear so many things in my closet that I haven’t been able to in years!”

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THE RESULTS

SHONIKA OCHOA-WILLIAMS Total Pounds Lost ....................................10 ....................................

Total Body Fat Percentage Lost ........... 3%  As a mother of two, Shonika’s story was one that was very relatable for many Suwanee Magazine readers. She had come to a point where she realized she was giving everything to her family, while dedicating little time for herself, and it was time for a change. She entered the competition to find herself again. And after teaming up with Crux Fitness and finding motivation in her Get Fit partner Kevin, Shonika was flipping tires in the gym and turning heads around town. Her new positive energy radiates with everything she does!

BEFORE

AFTER

SHONIKA TRAINED WITH DAN LEBLANC AT:

“II know that my fitness journey is just in the infant stage, but you have helped build Shonika back to life! I am a completely different person.”

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2018 GET FIT CHALLENGE PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS he Suwanee Magazine Get Fit Challenge would not be possible without the support of our community sponsors, including Phenix Salon Suites who generously provided makeovers and spa services for the top male and female contestants. Among the title of “Suwanee Get Fit Champion” and many other prizes, our overall winner, Kevin Burkhart was awarded with a massage, barber services and a facial. Top female contestant, Amy Doherty, enjoyed a full spa day at Phenix Salon starting with a massage by Consoni, followed by catered lunch, then eyelash extensions with Zola, complete with hair and makeup by Katie.

 Hair & Makeup artist Katie Humphreys of Southern Charm, Eyelash specialist Zola Nemorin of SKYN Clinic & Apothecary and Massage Therapist Consoni Turner of Revision Bodyworks with Amy Doherty.

PHOTOS BY JULIE PERDUE

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Amy admitted that the day of pampering was extremely uncommon for her. “I have to get a new dress for this to go out afterwards,” she joked. But, it is certainly deserved! Amy is a breast cancer survivor who said the Suwanee Magazine Get Fit Challenge has helped her to reclaim her body. After chemotheraphy, her hair and eyelashes have grown back over the past couple years, but the professionals at Phenix Salon Suites helped her feel even more confident by enhancing her already beautiful features.

 Our runner-up, Amy Doherty, enjoyed a full day of pampering and relaxation at Phenix Salon Suites in Suwanee.

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THE RESULTS

A ONE-STOP BEAUTY EXPERIENCE:

Phenix Salon Suites

Salon offers an array of services from hair, skin care, make-up artistry, eyelash extensions, nails, teeth whitening, massages, and more all in the privacy of individual suites.

BY LIZZY KIDNEY PHOTOS BY JULIE PERDUE

ith busy work and family schedules, it is often hard to find the time to pamper ourselves. Luckily, the owners of Phenix Salon Suites in Suwanee offer a one-stop beauty shop to help make pampering ourselves a little easier.

Located in the Suwanee Jubilee shopping center (with two additional locations in Buford and Johns Creek), the private suites offer clients the opportunity to get their hair and nails done, enjoy a relaxing massage, and even get their teeth whitened all in one location.

The concept of Phenix Salon Suites was created by hair stylist Gina Rivera, and allows for beauty professionals to own and run their own businesses without the overhead costs of a large retail space. Each of the 32 suites at Phenix are equipped with the necessary equipment to operate a successful salon, including their own thermostat, a salon coordinator, 24-hour keyless entry, and all-inclusive rental fees.

Professionals who have a suite at Phenix have the opportunity to customize their own suites in a relaxing and upscale environment.

“We allow our Salonists to add anything from paint colors and wall paper to additional lightning in their suites,” says managing partner Karen Perry, “we want them to truly feel like it is their own.”

Phenix provides a unique experience for both its salon professionals and its clients, in which everyone gets to enjoy their own private suite experience. According to Karen, “Our professionals get a lot of compliments from clients who say they had no idea a concept

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS This competition would not have been the same without the support of our amazing sponsors:

like this exists,” she says. “Private suites provide one-on-one communication that helps to develop a relationship between our professionals and their clients without the feeling of being on display.” The salon’s unique atmosphere also allows everyone to have the chance to network with other professionals who may offer different services at the salon.

Professionals at the salon often offer packages for holidays or special events in which a massage therapist, aesthetician, and stylist all join together to provide a mini spa day. For example, with Mother’s Day right around the corner, you can create a package and treat the special mom in your life to one or more of the services offered at Phenix, without the hassle of trying to piece something together yourself.

Networking and creating packages not only help our professionals at the salon,” Karen says, “but it also allows husbands to say, ‘I can just buy this package and treat my wife and I don’t have to organize anything.’”

The next time you are looking to pamper yourself, or a loved one, visit Phenix Salon Suites for a one-stop beauty experience. ■

1500 PEACHTREE INDUSTRIAL BLVD. SUWANEE, GA 30024

■ John Perry & Associates ■ Phenix Salon Suites ■ Kroger ■ Vitality Med Spa ■ Crux Fitness ■ Alloy Personal Training for Women ■ Stage 3 Fitness ■ Restorative Health Thank you also to Phenix Salon Suites, Medieval Times, Stone Mountain Park, Massage

by Karen Krotz, Pulse Nail Bar, Squeaky’s Car Wash and Gwinnett Beer Fest for providing prizes for all of our contestants.

Throughout this competition we have seen a transformation in each of our contestants.

From day one to day 90, there was such a major difference - not only in their fitness and weight levels, but in their overall assurance and in the way they now carry themselves.

It truly was a makeover from the inside out! ■

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your health,

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wellness and happiness

NORTH GWINNETT GRADUATES COMPETE IN MISS GEORGIA PAGEANT

FAMILY MATTERS 39 /// BEST FATHER IN SUWANEE CONTEST WINNER 4 0 /// ASK HENRY 42

SUMMER EAR HEALTH

Summer is upon us and so are outdoor activities in the hot Georgia sun.

While we’re all used to hearing the common, necessary precautions such as using sunscreen and staying hydrated, Dr. Matt Gill of Suwanee ENT shares tips to care for an often overlooked, yet highly sensitive body part: our ears.

By: Dr. Matt Gill, Suwanee ENT

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1 Sun Protection:

Swimmer’s Ear:

■ A majority of skin cancers occur in the head and neck region. Don't forget to apply sunscreen to your ears before enjoying time outdoors. Damage from the sun's UV rays is cumulative - you will reap what you sow later in life! Blistering sunburns in childhood can significantly increase the risk of skin cancers as an adult. So parents, please protect your children! If possible avoid outdoor recreational activities during times of peak UV exposure (10am – 4pm). Use an SPF 50 sunscreen and reapply hourly if in the sun. Don’t forget sun protective clothing and wide-brimmed hats which provide an additional layer of sun protection - especially for those exposed ears!

 For those prone to recurrent otitis externa, the use of water-safe earplugs or swim caps while swimming may help.

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■ Otitis externa or "swimmer's ear" is a bacterial or fungal infection of the ear canal skin that occurs more commonly during the warm and humid summer months. Water activities that introduce excess moisture into the ears may precipitate an infection. Breaks in the skin from vigorous ear cleaning with Q-tips can also lead to infections. Symptoms include ear pain, drainage, itching and even hearing loss. Medical treatment involves cleaning the ear canal to remove accumulated debris and sloughed skin, and prescription eardrops. In severe cases, the ear canal may be so swollen that drops cannot pass without the placement of a "wick" by a physician. Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way to prevent these types of ear infections.

Eardrops containing rubbing alcohol can be used to help dry excess moisture in the ears after swimming, but should never be used in the case of an existing eardrum perforation or in people with ear tubes (tympanostomy) as they are not safe for the middle ear. Q-tips should be avoided. If you develop signs and symptoms of otitis externa, prompt medical attention can provide quick and effective relief.

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Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: ■ If your ears are ringing or buzzing after a concert, it's their way of saying they didn't have a good time! Tinnitus is common following significant noise exposure and is a sign of damage to the sensitive "outer hair cells" of the inner ear. Some people will also experience a temporary decline in hearing, or "temporary threshold shift," which usually resolves after a few days. Occasionally, permanent hearing loss may occur from sudden noise exposure, e.g. a firecracker, gunshot, or other explosion going off too close to the ear. Noise and age are the two most common causes of hearing loss, and only one is

preventable! Earplugs are an easy and inexpensive way to protect your hearing in noisy environments.

Look for earplugs that provide 25-30 decibels of protection (noise reduction rating), which helps to reduce the sound level to a less damaging range.

Don’t forget to use earplugs when mowing the lawn as engine noise from mowers, edgers and trimmers is another source of summer noise exposure. Like UV damage, the harmful effects of noise exposure are cumulative, so prevention is key. If your summertime activities will include significant noise exposure, be proactive and protect your hearing. 

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FAMILY MAT TERS

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By Laura Lebovitz, LMFT, Grow Counseling

4 Ways to Raise a Confident Child If you are like most parents, you probably want to raise a confident child. That begins with understanding the process of a “sense of self.” Around the age of 2, kids begin to develop their own sense of self. They continue to develop a stronger sense of who they are as they get older and learn more about their bodies and brains. They become aware of what they are good at and what they struggle with. Over time, the running lists of strengths and weaknesses translate into a sense of self-confidence. The way a child feels about herself impacts everything that she does. Studies have found that kids who believe in themselves take more risks, accomplish their goals, push through challenges, and achieve wonderful things in life. Confidence, like any other character trait, can be developed and fostered.

Here are some easy ways to help develop your kid’s self-confidence: 1. Take a back seat.

When your kids are feeling frustrated with a task, it can be really tempting to jump in and fix the situation for them.

However, consistently fixing things for them takes away from great learning experiences. Allow them to try to fix it on their own before guiding them through the problem. Stand by as they are trying to problem-solve the task with helpful words of encouragement rather than solutions. This shows your kids that you are there for help, but that they can learn to be competent in doing things on their own.

2. Praise the effort as well as the accomplishments.

Let your kids know how important effort and working hard is when it comes to accomplishing goals. The best kind of praise highlights all the little steps they take on their way to mastering a task. Congratulate your child's efforts that led them to getting a good grade rather than just praising the A itself. Encourage them for working hard even if they are struggling along the way. Over time, hard work and motivation lead to confidence.

3. Mistakes are just chances for learning.

It’s normal to want to overlook mistakes kids make to avoid focusing on the negative. However, finding a way to

make mistakes a teachable moment can help your kids feel more confident when facing the same problem in the future.

Talk about what they could do differently the next time they face the same issue to create problem-solving opportunities.

For example, instead of just asking your kid to clean up their spilled drink, talk about how they could avoid making a mess next time by holding it over the sink or pouring slowly.

4. Be a confidence model.

Kids learn how to handle disappointments and accomplishments from watching their parents and care-givers. Reward or praise yourself out loud when you do something well at home or at work.

Instead of being hard on yourself when you forget something or aren’t able to do a task well, talk about how hard you tried and what you could do differently in the future. Acknowledge the fact that sometimes things are hard for you too, and then show them how you keep going even when things are hard. You can even set aside some time to talk about confidence as a family to get everyone involved! 

LAURA LEBOVITZ, LMFT Laura is a licensed marriage and family therapist who works in the Suwanee area at GROW Counseling.

She received her Masters of Family Therapy from Mercer University School of Medicine.

She works with children, adolescents, young adults, and families dealing with a variety of concerns. She specializes in working with anxiety, autism, self-harm, life transitions like divorce, and building healthy relationships within families.

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e created the first-ever Best Father in Suwanee Contest, sponsored by Bear’s Best Atlanta and Bare Bones Steakhouse, to honor and show appreciation for all of the amazing fathers and father figures in our community. Reading through every submission, we are so proud of the wonderful men raising families here. And, while every father who was submitted is certainly deserving of recognition, one local dad stood out from the crowd – demonstrating exemplary sacrifice and selflessness. Meet Big Billy – 2018’s Best Father in Suwanee! Happy Father’s Day to every dad making a difference in the lives of our children!

To read all of the submissions, visit

suwaneemagazine.com.

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2018 WINNER: Billy “BIG BILLY ” Wadsworth Entry submitted by Heather Parenti: Billy “Big Billy” Wadsworth is the father of my best friend, Brittany. I consider him to be my dad since my birth father was never around. At the age of 17 I met Brittany in high school.

The first time I met her parents (Big Billy and Tammy) they were very welcoming and loving and treated me as their own daughter. When I met Big Billy he worked the night shift and worked long hours. He has always provided above and beyond for his family and always puts their needs before his own.

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At age 27, I decided it was time to move out on my own and told Big Billy and Tammy I was looking for an apartment. Big Billy didn’t hesitate and offered for me to rent the basement in their home so I wouldn’t have to live in an apartment alone. For the next three years I was shown the love of a true father. Anytime I need anything he has been there for me, from an oil change to a warm dinner, an air filter change, fixing a running toilet and most importantly - his unconditional love. Every holiday Big Billy hosts a cookout and cooks delicious filets for everyone. The entire neighborhood knows Big Billy as he is always lending a hand to neighbors, friends, and even people he doesn’t know. One of his passions is taking his boat out on Lake Lanier and surfing. This is one of the times I see him smiling from ear to ear. I think I have made more friends during the summer on the lake with Big Billy than I have my entire life.

He is loving, funny, kind and has the most giving heart of any father I’ve met. Big Billy is truly the definition of the “Best Father” by not only putting his kids needs before his own but even the needs of others. I am truly thankful to call myself his adopted daughter and to call him my father.

Big Billy is truly the definition of the “Best Father” by not only putting his kids’ needs before his own but even the needs of others.

2018 Best Father in Suwanee Contest Sponsored by:

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HENRY ANSWERS ALL YOUR PET-RELATED QUESTIONS...

ASK HENRY @ SugarHillAnimalHospital.com

Q: My cat is urinating outside of his

litter box. What should I do?

A: Inappropriate

urination is the #1 cause for cats being turned into shelters.

Realize that there are several causes for this behavior.

First, your cat needs to be spayed/neutered or “spraying” is expected to mark their territory. Next, bring your cat into your veterinarian to be checked for a urinary tract infection. Once an underlying health problem is ruled out, the source of “stress” should be found and addressed. Some stresses might include intercat aggression, house guests, or any disruption to their daily routine. Possible solutions may be recommended by your vet such as pheromones, antianxiety medications, and environmental changes, to name a few. Yes, cats can be crazy, but working with your vet, you should be able to solve the problem in a way that makes everyone happy.

Q: Does my dog really need heartworm prevention medication?

A: Absolutely! Heartworm disease is endemic

in Suwanee and the surrounding areas. One bite of a mosquito can transmit young heartworms into your dog’s blood stream. Once infected, your dog will eventually suffer from heart failure that can be fatal.

It is essential that every dog (even yours!) receive heartworm prevention in a six-month injection or a monthly treatment available from your local vet.

These heartworm preventions also include intestinal dewormers to help protect your pet and your family from parasites. Please remember, the worst feeling is when your four legged companion gets a disease that you could have prevented.

Henry’s helper for this issue was West Hamryka DVM. Dr. Hamryka is the Owner and Medical Director of Sugar Hill Animal Hospital. His special interests include geriatrics and orthopedics.

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NORTH GWINNETT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES HE 74TH ANNUAL MISS GEORGIA PAGEANT WILL TAKE PLACE JUNE 12TH16TH IN COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, AND THREE OF SUWANEE’S OWN WILL BE COMPETING FOR THE TITLE. ALEXA GILOMEN, HOLLY HAYNES, AND TAYLOR HOFF ARE ALL NORTH GWINNETT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES WHOSE FAMILIES ARE STILL LIVING IN SUWANEE. WE HAD THE CHANCE TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT THEIR PAGEANT HISTORY, HOW THEY ARE PREPARING, AND WHAT WINNING MISS GEORGIA WOULD MEAN FOR THEM. INTERVIEW BY LIZZY KIDNEY PHOTOS BY CARLA HOFF

Alexa Gilomen MISS HISTORIC BUFORD

Q: How long have you been competing in pageants? What got you involved in pageants in the first place?

A: I’ve been competing in the Miss America Organization for a little over a year. I went to Miss Georgia as Miss Fulton County last year, and I’m going this year as Miss Historic Buford! I really just wanted to get on stage and perform again! I have been singing my entire life and hadn’t done much of it in college, so I saw this as an outlet to begin doing what I love again.

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Q: If you were to be crowned

Q: How has holding the title as Miss Historic Buford helped you prepare for Miss Georgia?

A: The title of Miss Georgia would mean more than anything to me. As Miss Georgia, I would be able to promote Children’s Miracle Network, as well as my own personal platform, Music Matters: Educating and Empowering Through Music. When I was an infant, I was born with a birth defect that I would have died from, had it not been for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. As Miss Georgia, It would be very special for me to be able to visit the children in Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals around the state and tell them my story, hopefully bringing them confidence and peace.

A: I grew up in Suwanee and spent a lot of time in Buford, so I am so honored to hold this title! This year, my board has hosted several mock interviews and round table discussions, so I feel I am better prepared for the interview portion. I always know someone will be there to help me prepare, whether it’s paperwork help or talent help, our board does it all! This franchise also has very generous sponsors that keep us looking and feeling our best all year round – we are very blessed!

Miss Georgia, what would that mean to you and what would you hope to accomplish?

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COMPETE FOR TITLE OF MISS GEORGIA Q: If you were to be crowned Miss Georgia, what would that mean to you and what would you hope to accomplish?

A: If I am crowned in June as the next Miss Georgia, I think it would be a very emotional experience for me because it would mean that the culmination of my hard work over the years has paid off. As Miss Georgia, my ultimate goal is to serve people selflessly and genuinely.

I want young girls to look up to me as a leader and a role model: someone who cares about her education, her community, and pursuing her passions.

Taylor Hoff MISS HARRIS COUNTY

PHOTO BY MATT BOYD

Q: What is it like competing with your friends?

Holly Haynes

MISS UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Q: What has holding the title as Miss University of Georgia meant to you?

A: This "classic city" and the people in it have my heart, and it is such a joy that I am able to represent the Bulldawg Nation this summer at Miss Georgia. I wanted to attend UGA since I was four years old, and this title has become a kind of metaphor of my journey within the Miss America Organization. It was my first pageant I competed in this system and, after winning it on my third try, it has shown just how much I’ve grown. It has taught me that I am more capable than I used to give myself credit for. My hard work has paid off, but there is always more to be done.

A: I am truly honored to be standing beside 53 beautiful, talented, intelligent, supportive, and well-spoken young women. I love that three Suwanee natives are competing for the title of Miss Georgia. Only one girl will walk away with the crown, but even if you are not crowned, you still win because of the friendships that come from competing at Miss Georgia. I am so excited to experience this with two of my closest, supportive friends, Alexa and Holly.

Q: What is your process like as you prepare for the Miss Georgia competition?

A: I am trusting in God’s plan for me throughout this entire experience. I am working to improve myself in every category as I am a perfectionist. Daily trips to the gym and dance studio and countless mock interviews are all definite musts for me in my preparation for that stage. When it comes to events and service, I have been working very hard to reach my $1,000 donation goal for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and growing my platform, Building Stronger and Smarter Girls, where I work with Girl Scout Troops in my community. It is a lot of work and time, but I would not have it any other way!

Q: If you were to be crowned Miss Georgia, what would that mean to you and what would you hope to accomplish?

A: I will be able to speak about my platform all across the state, work with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, something close to my heart, and have the opportunity to represent Georgia at the Miss America Pageant. This is just the beginning of a huge journey in my life I am so ready to begin and June cannot come fast enough!

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2018

GUIDE ith the arrival of summer comes the urge for adventure, to share experiences with family and friends. Our Summer Adventures Guide offers a wide variety of ideas for all ages. Start making plans that will keep the whole family smiling and create memories that last a lifetime.

Stone Mountain Park VISIT ONE OF THE TOP HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS IN THE U.S. Stone Mountain Park is Georgia’s most popular attraction and one of the top historical attractions in the U.S. Home to the world’s largest freestanding piece of exposed granite, Stone Mountain Park also features a historical Memorial Carving, the world’s largest relief sculpture. The 3,200-acre park includes more than a dozen attractions, historical and natural sights, two Marriott hotels, Georgia’s largest campground, two championship golf courses, and expansive natural woodlands with hiking trails. Minutes from downtown Atlanta, Stone Mountain Park is directly off of U.S. Highway 78 and is easily accessible from Atlanta interstates. Back by popular demand in 2018 is “Dinosaur Explore,” featuring 20 animatronic dinosaurs, T.rex meet and greets, and a dino dig play area. At Ice Age: Dawn of the the center of the fun is the Dinosaurs™ 4D Experience.”

Dinotorium, an indoor four level giant jungle gym of fun and games with baby dinosaur interactions.

New for 2018 is a whole new world of adventure, forty million years in the making with “The Lost World 4-D” Experience. Dinosaur Explore is open now for its final season. Admission is FREE with any paid daily All-Attractions Pass or Mountain Membership. An AllAttractions Pass also gives you access to the park’s family fun attractions such as Summit Skyride, Geyser Towers®, SkyHike®, The Great Locomotive Chase Adventure Golf, Scenic Railroad, Historic Square & Farmyard and Discovering Stone Mountain Museum.

For more information, visit stonemountainpark.com.

770.498.5690

800.401.2405 for Group Sales and Catered Outings StoneMountainPark.com

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EXPLORE YOUR FAMILY'S WILD SIDE

ENJOY HANDS-ON SUMMER LEARNING

This is the perfect adventure for the whole family. With outdoor courses designed specifically for kids starting at 4 years old and up, plus more challenging courses ideal for teens and adults, their activity accommodates nearly any adventurer! Tarzan swings, tight ropes, zip-lines, and more!

Visit a hands-on learning environment at Interactive Neighborhood for Kids in Gainesville, Georgia! Museum admission is only $8/person and is good for the entire day. Check out their Gift Shop and Pottery Studio. They offer scheduled group rates and birthday parties. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm and Sunday, 1pm-5pm.

Voted Best of Gwinnett 2017 for their Summer Art Camp! Offering week-long and daily options. Each week includes glass fusion, pottery & canvas painting, sculpture and more! Ages 6+. Monday-Friday. $190 per week or $45 daily. Mention Suwanee Magazine for 10% off full week registration! Always open daily for walk-in pottery, canvas and wine glass painting.

404.277.6113

770.536.1900

678.714.LOVE (5683)

TreetopQuest.com

InkFun.org

EyeCandyArtStudio.net

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SUMMER ART CAMP

TRY THE WORLD’S LONGEST ZIP OVER LAKE LANIER Want to know about zip lining? Google it. Want to know about Lake Lanier Canopy Tours?

Go see them!

They’ve got the world’s longest zip over Lake Lanier.

They’ve got the world’s largest collection of LLCT t-shirts at Lake Lanier.

But seriously, they do have the WORLD’S GREATEST GUIDES anywhere. Check them out on social media and share your experience after you visit! #ZIPLLCT.

2018 SUMMER ADVENTURES GUIDE

Lake Lanier Canopy Tours

770.828.7654

LakeLanierCanopy Tours.com

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2018 SUMMER ADVENTURES GUIDE

PLAN A LUXURY VACATION THIS SUMMER

FISH THE DAY AWAY

Showtime Travel designs luxury vacations for busy professionals.

They eliminate the stress of planning a vacation to give you peace-of-mind. You will enjoy their personal customer service and industry knowledge. Services include family vacations, group travel, destination weddings, company outings, romantic getaways, birthday vacations and more! Contact them today!

770.495.8855

706.746.2550

770.822.8840

ShowtimeTravel.com

AndysTroutFarm.com

GwinnettParks.com

The Artist Spotlight FILMMAKING SUMMER CAMP FOR TEENS WITH A PASSION FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY The Artist Spotlight Experience is a three-day “hands-on” filmmaking Summer Camp for teens 14-18. The camp is meticulously designed by working professionals in the entertainment industry. Their objective is to support, inspire and enrich young individuals with a passion for visual and performing arts.

By bringing students into a cinematic world complete with industry-grade equipment, and renowned, talented instructors, they will provide a unique, unforgettable learning experience that will prepare your children to successfully face obstacles, shape their character, build new skills and reinforce their confidence and ability to socialize with different people in an exciting, funpacked environment.

Georgia Tech University Student Center

June 18, 19 & 20 / 9am-4pm

For more information, email Morris at mlucas@artistspotlight.us.

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ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS FOR ALL AGES

Andy's Trout Farm is nestled on 325 beautiful acres at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains in Northeast Georgia. Andy’s offers a tranquil respite with lodging in their rustic cabins by the creek, fishing and hiking the trails with nature at your side, enjoying the quiet peace and relaxation away from the hustle and bustle of life. Cope Hall is the new mountain venue for church groups, family reunions and special events! Call for special group pricing!

Email them at info@andystroutfarm. com or follow them on Facebook.

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Award-winning parks offer a neverending source of fun activities any time of year. You can explore the past at historic sites and museums or stroll on a trail, play a sport or attend a pottery class. There are lovely views of woodlands, lakes, meadows, streams and gently rolling hills.

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local food. craft beer. wine trends.

WINE TASTING TIPS WITH CHÂTEAU ÉLAN

WHAT'S BREWING: ATLANTA'S SCOFFLAW BREWING COMPANY 62

THE STICKY MAPLE A flaky biscuit with an all natural fried chicken breast and pecan wood-smoked bacon topped with Bissell Family Farm real maple syrup.

R E S TA U R A N T S P O T L I G H T :

MAPLE STREET BISCUIT COMPANY Duluth breakfast and lunch spot offers the kind of comfort food you'd find at home, just elevated! STORY BY RACHEL PILLOW. PHOTOS BY WALT WOODEN.

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hat’s closed on Sundays, has a guiding principle of gracious service, and makes the best biscuits ever? Sorry, no, not you Chick-fil-A. We will always love you, your food and your kindness. But, we’re taking our indulgences one step further at Maple Street Biscuit Company in downtown Duluth where ”gracious service” is a company-wide motto and where made-from-scratch biscuits are piled high with fried chicken, pecan smoked bacon, over easy eggs, and topped with pure maple syrup, sausage gravy, house-made pepper jelly or apple butter.

Say no more.

You had us at biscuits...and bacon, and maple syrup, and fried chicken...

Maple Street Biscuit Company is in a historic 1940’s building in the newly revived Parsons Alley area of downtown Duluth. Owner, Lindsey Smith, opened the doors during the Duluth Fall Festival weekend last September to an unprecedented amount of hungry people, and the breakfast & lunch spot has been growing in popularity ever since. The Duluth restaurant is one of the Florida-based company’s 22 locations, but the first in the state of Georgia. Rather than a “chain” or “franchise” the concept is all about community.

Each restaurant is considered a “community store” and owners are called “Community Leaders.” Along with serving consistently delicious food, the company’s founders have an intrinsic value system that has created a culture of giving back.

“We want our actions to match our words…to be in a community for years to come and to help define that neighborhood,” they state on the company website. It’s this defining level of authenticity, in character and in food, that keeps people coming back for more.

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Few foods are as characteristically Southern as a perfectly baked, fluffy, flaky, buttery, warm buttermilk biscuit. And as the name suggests, Maple Street Biscuit Company makes classic biscuits exceptionally well, but in their own “twist on comfort food,” they’re adding their signature maple syrup to the batter and even more butter to the top in the middle of baking.

These huge, maple-laced, butterfilled biscuits have just a hint of sweetness, much like their soughtafter Maple Tap coffee from RedLeaf Roasters. Maple Street coffee club members can enjoy unlimited cups of this addictive coffee all year round. “We have customers that get here every day right as we open for their morning cup of coffee. Mr. D (one of our coffee club members) gets here before we even open, but we have the coffee brewed and he chats with us as we’re opening…it’s always a great start to our day,” said Assistant Community Leader, Dylan Kennedy. “We see a lot of regulars and love getting to know them and their families,” he continued.

savor

The Five and Dime

The “BAM!” is a house-made vanilla bean waffle with asiago cheese and pecan wood smoked bacon baked in. “BAM! Yo Yo” is topped with fried chicken, honey butter and maple syrup.

 Spacious indoor and outdoor seating includes large, communal tables to encourage conversation among guests.

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Rural oatmeal ď ľ topped with real maple syrup, fresh strawberries and pecans.

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 Sunshine in the Garden is a skillet of simmering tomatoes, shallots, green peppers and spices , topped with feta cheese, fresh basil, sunny side up eggs and a flaky biscuit to sop up all the goodness.

When we visited the restaurant we chatted with self-proclaimed regular, Laura Maddrey who was with her 6-month-old daughter, Cora and about to meet her husband who works in Suwanee, for lunch. “We come here once a week - she has been coming here since before she was born,” Maddrey said. Maddrey has tried nearly everything on the menu and can’t pick just one favorite. “Right now, I’m craving the club,” she admitted.

The Chicken Club is an all-natural fried chicken sandwich served on a flaky, buttermilk biscuit with pecan wood smoked bacon, Romaine lettuce, tomato and topped with blue cheese, ranch or honey mustard dressing. Open Monday-Thursday from 7am – 2pm and Saturday from 7am – 3pm, the restaurant serves both breakfast and lunch all day. “Georgia loves breakfast for lunch,” Kennedy stated. “Out of all the Maple Street Biscuit Company

locations, nowhere else is breakfast as consistently popular during the lunch hours.”

He recommends “The Five” or the “Sticky Maple” to get your foot in the door, if a newcomer is hesitant to try one of the more adventurous offerings right off the bat. The Five consists of a flaky biscuit, allnatural fried chicken, pecan wood smoked bacon, Cheddar cheese and sausage gravy with a little kick. “The gravy tastes like something your grandma would make,” Kennedy said. The Sticky Maple is a flaky biscuit, all natural fried chicken breast and pecan wood smoked bacon all topped with Bissell Family Farm real maple syrup.

“Whatever menu item you choose, you will not be disappointed,” said Maple Street Ambassador, Janet Mark. She has been there since opening day The Chicken and is responsible Club for taking orders at the register and making sure the coffee stations and communal, seat-yourself dining tables are tidy. She’s also the one who asks you one surprising question as you place your order. Maple Street Biscuit Company asks their “question of the month” to each customer and uses the customers’ answers to call out their order when it’s ready.

Questions vary from “who is your celebrity crush?” to “what type of animal would you Maple Street Biscuit Company makes be?” “Not everyone is a morning their delicious sauces and condiments person and might in-house, such as the apple butter, honey not be ready for mustard, pepper jelly and honey butter. conversation – we hope this is a fun way to start their day. It also ensures that the exchanges we have with our guests are conversational, not transactional.”

Everybody who walks in Maple Street Biscuit Company’s doors is immediately greeted and treated like family…and served the kind of comfort food you’d find at home, just elevated. 

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WINE

Tasting TIPS

F R O M C H ÂT E AU É L A N ' S N E W S O M M E L I E R , M AT I A S H E N R I Q U E Z

Story by: RACHEL PILLOW Photos by: NATALIE STUBBS

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e had the opportunity to attend Château Élan’s “Wine Tasting Experience” - an evening of wine-tasting led by Level 2 Sommelier, Matias Henriquez, who recently joined the Braselton winery after being recruited from a winery in his home-country of Chile. Henriquez’ personable approach and witty sense of humor coupled with his vast experience and knowledge, lent itself to a fun, entertaining, educational, and most importantly, wine-fueled event. It was evident that the group consisted of both wine enthusiasts and novice drinkers, but by the end of the night we all shared a newfound, common appreciation for Château Élan’s intensive wine-making process, as well as expert tips for properly tasting and enjoying all wines. Below are five tasting tips to help you on your way to becoming a wine connoisseur yourself...

MATIAS HENRIQUEZ, Sommelier, Château Élan

WINE FACT:

SET YOUR LINEUP

Calling a wine “Reserve” is not just a way for the winery to mark up the price.

A reserve or premium wine will be aged in stainless steel or oak barrels for 1.5 - 2.5 years as opposed to the U.S. average of 8-10 months for non-reserves.

We tasted Château Élan wines in this order: Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, Zinfandel Rosé Reserve, Pinot Noir Reserve, Merlot Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Mameli Signature (Italian red), El Tempranillo (Spanish red) and finished with Château Élan’s sweetest offerings – their Muscadine wines. “Start with dry (not sweet) whites that do not have much residual sugar and low tannin levels, and always finish with the sweetest wines,” advised Henriquez. Muscadine grapes are the only grapes grown on the Château Élan property because they are the only vines that can thrive in the hot, humid temperatures of the south and Georgia’s red clay soil. All other grapes are grown in California before being shipped to Château Élan’s awardwinning winemaker.

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Lift & Look Place a white napkin behind your wine glass and hold it up to see the color and if there are sediments. “You don’t want sediment,” said Henriquez. Sediments are solid matter that have settled to the bottom of the fermentation tanks, such as grape skin, dead yeast cells or stems. Gently tip the glass as you look through it. If it’s a heavy, full-bodied red such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, you shouldn’t really be able to “see through it.”

Swirl & Sniff “We aren’t swirling to look like snobs,” laughed Henriquez. “Each wine has a unique volatile structure and swirling it releases its aromas.” Aroma is a major component of the wine-tasting process. Swirling brings oxygen into the glass, helping the wine to open up.

It allows you to get a sense of the wine’s bouquet and appreciate its aroma.

One of the most unique aromas we experienced was in Château Élan’s Reserve Merlot. “It smells like sausage,” said one participant. Henriquez informed us that the description was accurate - as it had a very herbaceous, “salami or charcuterie-like” aroma.

(Editor’s note: this was my favorite wine of the night and I never thought I was a fan of Merlot.)

WINE FACT: Older, white wines have deeper colors. You want to drink white wine while it’s young. Look for bright, straw-like color.

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Sip & Slurp Have you ever noticed someone “slurping” his wine?

“I don’t recommend doing this at a dinner party,” said Henriquez. But if you can do it inconspicuously and in the right setting it helps to “open the structure of the wine because some of the wines are tight,” he continued.

Without “slurping” you can still experience the wine’s essence by taking a small sip and letting it linger on your tongue, passing across all of your tastebuds. “Heavy tannins fill your mouth. If you feel yourself salivating, then you know it’s a wine with higher acidity, such as Sauvignon Blanc,” said Henriquez.

savor

Pair with Cheese We were served a variety of cheeses to pair with each wine. “A bad wine-cheese combo can ruin the experience, but a great combination can transform it,” advised Henriquez. Bold cheeses like aged cheddar or Gouda are best paired with fullbodied wines that have heavier tannins, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Acidic white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc pair well with something tangier, like goat cheese; whereas fuller-bodied whites, such as Chardonnay go best with a creamy, buttery Brie cheese. Sweet and salty always make a good combination – for a unique dessert offering, try Muscadine with blue cheese.

We hope you found these tips as helpful as we did. The world of wine can seem intimidating at first, but Château Élan Winery & Resort is making wine-tasting an approachable, enjoyable experience.

For more information on their upcoming events, visit ChateauElan.com. 

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UNFILTERED & UN

Behind Scofflaw Brewing Company s don’t-give-a-damn attitude are people who care a lot about family, serving their community, giving back and making beer they are “fiercely proud of.”

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Scofflaw [skaw

f-law] 1. a term coined during the Proh ibition era to mean a pers on who drinks ille gally.

2. a person who flouts rules, conv entions, or accepted prac tices and who sc offs at the law.

Scofflaw Brew ing Co.

1. a band of brew ing compatriots dedicated to in novation, crafts manship and expanding the horizons of craft beer in the southeas t.

apologetic STORY BY RACHEL PILLOW PHOTOS COURTESY SCOFFLAW BREWING CO.

cofflaw Brewing Co. definitely embraces the irreverent spirit of their name. Take one look at them and you’ll quickly see that this group doesn’t fit into any kind of “standard mold.” The Atlantabased brewery, founded by Matt Shirah and Travis Herman, opened its doors in Westside Atlanta in June 2016. Just two short years later it has not only become a local household name, but has been called a U.S. brewery to watch, has been featured in Fortune, Garden and Gun Magazine, Beer Advocate, Draft Mag, The Bitter Southerner, Paste Magazine and USA Today, and has surpassed every sales goal and expectation, recently tripling capacity to keep up with demand. Shirah and Herman have come a long way from the first batches of their signature beer, Basement IPA, which was brewed (and named) in Matt’s mother-inlaw’s basement.

With multiple degrees in microbiology and biochemistry, Herman left behind a career creating vaccines in a pharmaceutical lab. Today, those same meticulous, scientific tendencies now extend to the Brewmaster’s “lab” where hours of research, discovery, preparation and work are put into each recipe. Shirah, an Emory graduate, decided to stop climbing the corporate ladder in New York City and go back to his southern roots to do something that he “originally thought would be easier.” Admittedly, he was wrong about this path being “easier,” but it’s “definitely more fun.”

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BREWING FOR THE SOUTH We want people to come here and enjoy a local product. We’re brewing beer for people in the South,” said Shirah. And while you’ll certainly “Where beer, friends find a variety of offerings on and family meet.”

Scofflaw Brewing has Scofflaw’s tap wall, IPAs are become a popular clearly their forte. They have hangout spot in become known in the Atlanta Westside's Bolton neighborhood, beer scene for big, juicy, hoppy, drawing in craft beer hazy IPAs that deliver a citrus fans from all over or tropical punch. And, you metro Atlanta. won’t find them veering too far from that. To date, they have brewed 40-50 unique IPA recipes. “We do what we know, we brew what we want to drink, and we do it very well,” summed up Shirah. (Editors note: if you have been avoiding IPAs because of their inherent bitterness, try Scofflaw and you just might be swayed - especially if you can get your hands on a POG Basement made with passionfruit, orange and guava.)

The best way to see what they’re all about is to make the trek ITP to the brewery, open daily starting at noon or 1pm on Sundays. They encourage you to bring your families and make a day of it. “Kids are zipping around on scooters, people bring in picnics and just camp out for the day, we see pop-up tents and umbrellas

Co-Founders Travis Herman and Matt Shirah might do rowdy things to attract attention to the Scofflaw brand, but their compassion and dedication to service are as big as their beers (and Travis’ beard).

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Scofflaw’s original and still-best-selling IPA began in a home brew setup in Shirah’s mother-in-law’s basement. Shirah said she wasn’t sure what was happening down there, that she probably thought it was a meth lab or something – she would close all the windows when guys came over to work on her pool out back.

out there…it feels like a beer fest every weekend here,” Shirah joked. Beer geeks can take a tour through the brewhouse and almost always expect to find unique offerings on tap that they’re not going to be able to get in retailers or restaurants. “Our goal is to make one new beer a week for the remainder of the year. You have to be nimble to get people what they want, and they want versatility,” said Shirah.

The brewery also plays host to a number of public events that give back to causes or nonprofits they’re passionate about. The most recent event “F*** Cancer” ended up raising tens of thousands of dollars for the Lymphona Society. “Every couple months we’ll plan something with a specific purpose, leveraging our reach to give back to the community.” On the Scofflaw website, Shirah puts it this way: “Travis and I are raising families as well as a brewery. While we’re serious about beer, we want to take the time to meet and engage the people drinking our beer, as well as their families, and to support others in the craft beer community.” ★

G W I N N E T T

S T R I P E R S '

LUCAS SIMS | PITCHER Height

6’2”

Weight

225 lbs.

Age

S P O T L I G H T

The success and fan-base of the Atlanta Braves has traveled to Gwinnett over the past few years as the newly-named Gwinnett Stripers have settled into their home at Coolray Field. For Stripers pitcher and Gwinnett County native, Lucas Sims, playing at Coolray Field hits a lot closer to home (no pun intended). We had the opportunity to sit down with him and learn about the Stripers’ goals for the season and an inside glimpse into his professional career.

Q: What was it like getting the call that you were drafted to your hometown team?

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Hometown

P L A Y E R

Drafted out of Brookwood High School (Snellville, GA)

A: I really didn’t expect to get drafted by the Braves, and then once that pick came up it was like a dream come true. I would be content playing professional baseball anywhere, but getting to play for your hometown team is just kind of icing on the cake.

A Gwinnett County native, Lucas Sims grew up playing baseball from a young age.

In high school, Sims helped lead the Brookwood Broncos to the State championship game and began to receive a lot of professional attention his senior year. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2012, and made his MLB debut with the Braves in August of 2017 against the Dodgers.

INTERVIEW BY LIZZY KIDNEY PHOTOS BY TIM DRYDEN

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Q: What’s it like getting to play in the community you grew up in?

A: It’s pretty special! I remember coming to games in 8th grade and high school. It’s cool to now have the opportunity for my wife and family to be here with me. It’s also nice to be able to go home and sleep in your own bed every night.

Q: When did you start playing ball?

Did you always know you wanted to play professionally?

A: I started playing for a T-ball church league when I was 2 or 3, but I lied and said I was 4 so I would be able to play. I knew without a doubt in my mind that I wanted to play professionally. It had always been a dream and goal of mine, and I always knew I would play in college. I had a growth spurt my senior year of high school which helped me develop even more as a player. I then started receiving professional looks and that made me realize that I had a shot.

Q: Did anyone in the majors give you any advice that has helped you in your career?

A: I was up there for two months last year and it’s hard to pick anyone in particular. All that experience up there is awesome to just take it all in and learn from everything. Having the opportunity to watch the veteran guys and see what it takes to be successful out there was a great opportunity.

Q: What do you guys hope to accomplish as a team this season?

A: Win more than we lose! I mean of course we want to win every game, but it’s such a long season – so if we stick to the approach of winning each series then that sets us up for better results at the end of the season.

Q: Do you have any advice for young athletes who think they may want to be in your shoes one day and play professionally?

A: It’s hard to pick one thing in particular, but if I had to sum it up, it would ultimately be to never stop believing in your goals and more importantly, don’t stop believing in yourself. 

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■ Are you tired of having to put your phone down somewhere due to lack of pockets and ultimately missing an important phone call or text message?

Inventor and Founder of MyPhonePouch, Allison Santini, is a busy working mom who has created a solution to your problem!

Like many of us, Allison wanted to wear stylish and comfortable clothes that often lacked pockets to hold your phone in. She created the MyPhonePouch to instantly add pockets to yoga pants, leggings and other outfits. What started as a sewing project using cut-up leggings and shirts, has now turned into a unique, game-changing solution to a very common problem most women are faced with.

Allison’s pouches are an innovative, soft, stretchy pouch worn tucked over a snug waistband to carry your phone without having to worry about a clunky phone holster. The pouches are currently available for sale on Etsy and their website, and come in many different varieties and colors. Allison hopes to partner with online stores, retailers, and other go-to-market channels as they continue to grow.

The MyPhonePouch product line Order your MyPhonePouch continues to expand to include at myphonepouch.com. more size phones, more colors,

LA

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ARO T FRO M IN AND

New Gallery Showcases Local Artists ■ Echo Gallery & Artist Colony is

bringing local art to the Suwanee Community. The Gallery opened on March 10th just around the corner from Town Center, and is currently home to 14 independent artists.

The Gallery received its name based off of the Suwanee Community it is located in. Suwanee is said to be the Creek Indian word for the Shawnee Indian and also a word from the Creek and Timucuan Indian meaning “echo.”

The local artists of the Echo Gallery try to stay true to its name by portraying the “echo” of the world around us.

Vickie Johnson, founder of the Echo Gallery created the space so artists have a place to create and members of the community have a place to purchase local art.

Among the artists of Echo Gallery are Sandra Ackovic, Wendy Anett, Kevin Aurand, Kathy de Cano, Drew Carroll, Kim Crowe, John Duke, Vickie Johnson, Sukyong Lawson, Pam O’Sullivan, Patty Stokes, Shirley Tyldesley and Alan Zarter.

Located at 3982 Cherokee Trail, the gallery intends on holding monthly events and workshops where artists can teach their art forms to the community while enjoying wine, beer, and snacks.

For more information, visit facebook. com/EchoGalleryArtistColony or email EchoGallery@Gmail.com.

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and coming soon the addition of branding options.

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Slow Pour Brewing Wins Georgia Brew Battle at 2018 Suwanee Beer Fest Coming Soon to Suwanee: State-of-the-Art Independent-Living, Assisted-Living and Memory Care Senior Community ■ Caddis Healthcare is bringing a new senior living community with resort-style amenities to Suwanee.

Heartis Suwanee is located off of Suwanee Dam Road, and will offer 175 spacious independent living, assisted living and memory care units in single-story, two-story, and three-story buildings totaling about 187,375 square feet. The location has the luxury of being in close proximity to Suwanee Town Center, the Mall of Georgia, and renowned medical facilities such as Northside Emory Hospital in Johns Creek.

The new state-of-the-art independent, assisted, and memory care senior community will offer first-class amenities, including spacious accommodations with TV, large, secured courtyards, beautifully landscaped grounds with walking paths, game and activity rooms, a beauty and barber shop, large dining rooms that will serve home-cooked meals, social and recreational activities and religious services, and relaxing common areas.

The assisted-living facility will

also provide special services such as a nurse-supervised staff, 24hour emergency call systems, housekeeping and laundry services, as well as assistance with personal activities, memory care services, and medication supervision.

The memory care facilities will not only have specific physical features that help make them valuable, but they also feature special programming that stems from the lifelong learning philosophy on which they are built, based on the work of Boston’s Dr. Cameron Camp and his incorporation of Montessori principles.

Caddis Healthcare has formed a valuable partnership with Frontier Management, a property management company that currently operates 11 Heartis communities and is ranked #20 among the nation’s Top 50 Largest U.S. Seniors Housing Operators by American Seniors Housing Association.

Heartis Suwanee is the second Heartis senior living center in Georgia, and is set to open its doors in late 2018.

■ Each year, Suwanee Beer Fest

gives power to the people with its annual Georgia Brew Battle, where local breweries put their best beer forward to compete for the title of “Georgia’s Best Beer” and an engraved nameplate on the famous golden cup trophy.

This year, festival attendees were each given a wooden token to use to vote for their favorite brew. More than 30 local breweries were vying for that token! At the end of the day, festival John Reynolds and Marty organizers tallied Mazzawi of up the votes. It Slow Pour was a close call, Brewing proudly but in the end accept the "Brew Slow Pour Brewing Battle" trophy at the 2018 Suwanee in Lawrenceville Beer Fest. claimed the title and the coveted trophy with their extremely popular, Nostalgia IPA. The win came just one week after The Fresh Market in Suwanee became the first grocer to sell Slow Pour cans. Slow Pour Brewing will hold the title and display the trophy in their brewery until the 2019 Suwanee Beer Fest.

2018 Suwanee Beer Fest Benefits Cooper’s Crew ■ There is more to Suwanee Beer Fest than unlimited beer and people dressed as leprechauns. Each year, the festival proudly benefits a local charity organization.

This year's event donated over $8,500 of festival proceeds to Cooper’s Crew. Cooper’s Crew is a Suwanee-based nonprofit formed in memory and honor of Cooper O’Brien, a North Gwinnett Middle School student who lost his battle to Clear Cell Sarcoma in 2014 at the young age of 14. To date, the Cooper O’Brien Scholarship Fund has donated over $25,000 in

the form of scholarships for other young students who have shown great strength in the face of hardships.

They are also dedicated to providing funding for research and development to help find a cure for childhood cancer. Cooper’s Crew has partnered with CURE Childhood Cancer to help fund research projects specific to Sarcoma cancers.

To date, Suwanee Beer Fest organizers have been able to donate roughly $100,000 of festival proceeds to local charities, such as Cooper’s Crew.

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Community Robotics Team Ignites a Fire for STEM in Suwanee â– Ignite Robotics, a FIRST Robotics Competition Team, is a community team of students in grades 9-12 formed in August of 2017. The team works together to compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition, an international high school robotics competition that gives students realworld engineering and business development experience. Under strict rules, each team is challenged to raise funds, design (CAD), develop, build and program a 120lb robot to perform assigned tasks against an international field of competitors.

Ignite Robotics had an excellent first year, qualifying for the State Championship and placing 8th. The team also earned eight awards along the way including the Rookie All Star Award, Rookie Inspiration Award and Highest Rookie Seed (three times). They invite students interested in engineering, marketing, programming, CAD, social media or website design to join their team and use their passions while turning them into life skills.

For more information, visit IgniteRobotics.com or email Info@IgniteRobotics.com.

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ON THE SCENE

Jubilee Easter Egg Hunt Sunday, March 25th JUBILEE SHOPPING CENTER

PHOTOS BY: KARL LAMB

Glow in the Park Saturday, April 14th TOWN CENTER PARK

PHOTOS BY: JULIE PERDUE

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2018 Suwanee Beer Fest Saturday, March 17th TOWN CENTER PARK

PHOTOS BY: KARL LAMB

VIEW MORE PEOPLE & PLACES PICS @

suwaneemagazine.com

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people & places

Race to Cure Sarcoma Saturday, April 14th TOWN CENTER PARK

PHOTOS BY: KARL LAMB

Georgia SPCA Run for The Rescues 2018 Saturday, March 24th TOWN CENTER PARK

PHOTOS BY: KARL LAMB

SBA March Meeting Wednesday, March 14th NGAA CENTER FOR THE ARTS

PHOTOS BY: JULIE PERDUE

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A R E A

E V E N T

THINGS TO DO THIS MAY & JUNE

May

4

FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY/NIGHT OF JAZZ

________________ ____ Trucks open @ 5:30pm; Music @ 7:00pm __________________

Town Center Park

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4TH ANNUAL RISE & DRIVE FAMILY FESTIVAL

________________ ____ 10:00am-1:30pm __________________

The Plaza, City of Sugar Hill __________________

Free family-friendly event with proceeds supporting Access Life America.

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SUWANEE FARMERS MARKET __________________ 8:00am-Noon __________________

Town Center Park

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NORTH GWINNETT ARTS ASSOCIATION'S

GWINNETT BEER____FEST ____________________

ARTS IN THE PARK __________________

1:00pm-5:00pm ____________________ ____

11:00am-7:00pm __________________

Coolray Field, Lawrenceville ____________________ ____

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to GwinnettBeerfest.com.

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STAR 94 WOOFSTOCK

_________________ _______ Sat. 11:00am-7:00pm Sun. 11:00am-6:00pm _______________________

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Town Center Park __________________

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

______________ ____ All day Saturday __________________

Joe’s Garage

2855 Lawrenceville-Suwanee, Suwanee GA 30025 __________________ Details available at FreeComicBookDay.com.

Town Center Park _______________________ Details available at WoofStockAtl.com.

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Visit NGAA4Arts.com/arts-inthe-park for more information.

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COSMIC CLIMBING

__________________ 8:00pm __________________

Adrenaline Climbing __________________ For more info visit AdrenalineClimbing.com.

GWINNETT STRIPERS PINK OUT THE PARK FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

__________________ 1:05pm __________________

Coolray Field __________________ For More Info visit GoStripers.com.

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ATLANTA UNITED 2 VS. TORONTO FC 2 __________________ 7:00pm __________________

Coolray Field __________________ More info at AtlUtd.com/2.

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COLBIE CAILLAT LIVE! ____________________ 8:00pm ____________________

Bowl at Sugar Hill ____________________ For More Info visit TheBowlatSugarHill.com.

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GREAT STRIDES ATLANTA 5K ____ ________________

Check-in at 9:00am, Walk begins 10:00am __________________

Town Center Park __________________

The largest cystic fibrosis walk in the country. Registration is free, but walkers are encouraged to raise funds.

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GWINNETT STRIPERS BARK IN THE PARK __________ _______

7:05pm ________________

Coolray Field ________________ Come on down and enjoy a game with your furry friend!

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MOVIES UNDER THE STARS ______ ________________

Cars 3 at 7:00pm, The Greatest Showman at 8:45pm _____________________

Town Center Park

June

1

FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY

________________ ____ Trucks open at 5:30pm, music begins at 7:00pm ___________________

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Town Center Park

BICENTENNIAL BUS TOUR: KIDS EXPLORE GWINNETT

________________ _______ 1:45pm-9:00pm ______________________

Explore the history of sports in Gwinnett County and its famous athletes! For more information, call 770.822.5178.

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B AT THE MOVIES

________________ _______ Paddington 2 at 7:00pm, Jumanji at 8:45 pm ______________________

Town Center Park

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EASTON CORBIN LIVE! __________________________ 8:00pm __________________________

Bowl at Sugar Hill __________________________ For more info visit TheBowlatSugarHill.com.

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GWINNETT STRIPERS DAYCARE DAY ___________________ ____

12:05pm ______________________

Coolray Field ______________________ Coolray Field welcomes area daycares and kids camps.

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HI-HOPE SERVICE CENTER PRESENTS A ROAST & TOAST _______________ ___________

Cocktail Reception 5:30pm to 6:15pm, Dinner 6:15pm, Roast & Toast Presentation 6:30pm to 8:30pm _________________________

Tannery Row Ale House _________________________

For more info and to purchase tickets visit HiHopecenter.org/roastandtoast.

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FREE ROLE PLAYING GAMES

_______________________ ____ All day __________________________

Joe’s Garage

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GWINNETT STRIPERS BARK IN THE PARK

__________ _____________ 7:05pm ______________________

Coolray Field ______________________

Come on down and enjoy a game with your furry friend!

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SUWANEE SUMMER PORCH JAM____ ____________________ 6:00pm ____________________ ____

Old Town Suwanee

____________________ ____

An old-fashioned summer block party featuring food, drinks music and fun!

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THE VILLAGE PEOPLE & SISTER SLEDGE ___________ ________________

8:00pm __________________________

Bowl at Sugar Hil __________________________ For more info visit TheBowlatSugarHill.com.

ATL UTD 2 VS. CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE __________________ 7:00pm ____________________

Coolray Field

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